Breakdown Phenomena in Semiconductors and Semiconductor Devices

✍ Scribed by Michael Levinshtein, Juha Kostamovaara, Sergey Vainshtein

• Publisher: World Scientific
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 223
• Series: Selected topics in electronics and systems 36
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Impact ionization, avalanche and breakdown phenomena form the basis of many very interesting and important semiconductor devices, such as avalanche photodiodes, avalanche transistors, suppressors, sharpening diodes (diodes with delayed breakdown), as well as IMPATT and TRAPATT diodes. In order to provide maximal speed and power, many semiconductor devices must operate under or very close to breakdown conditions. Consequently, an acquaintance with breakdown phenomena is essential for scientists or engineers dealing with semiconductor devices. The aim of this book is to summarize the main experimental results on avalanche and breakdown phenomena in semiconductors and semiconductor devices and to analyze their features from a unified point of view. Attention is focused on the phenomenology of avalanche multiplication and the various kinds of breakdown phenomena and their qualitative analysis.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 12
Preface......Page 8
1.1 Elementary act of impact ionization......Page 16
1.2 Auger recombination......Page 20
1.3 Energy of electrons and holes as a function of electric field......Page 23
1.4.1 Approximation of the characteristic breakdown field F;......Page 25
1.4.2 Monte- Carlo simulation......Page 28
1.4.3 Approximation of ionization rates......Page 29
2.1 Fundamentals of avalanche multiplication......Page 36
2.2.1 Spectral sensitivity......Page 41
2.2.2 Dark current......Page 42
2.2.4 Time response......Page 44
2.2.5 Multiplication factor......Page 47
2.2.6 Avalanche excess noise......Page 51
3.2 General form of the static “breakdown” current-voltage characteristic......Page 54
3.2.1 Microplasma breakdown......Page 56
3.2.2.1 Contact resistivity......Page 59
3.2.2.2 Thermal resistance......Page 60
3.2.2.3 Space-charge resistance......Page 62
3.2.3.2 The zero doping ( p - i - n) structure......Page 65
3.2.3.3 Computer simulation......Page 70
3.2.4 Second part of the current-voltage characteristic, with posi- tive diflerential resistance at very high current densities......Page 73
3.3.1 Principle of operation......Page 75
3.3.2 Main parameters......Page 77
3.4 IMPATT diodes......Page 80
3.4.1 Principle of operation......Page 81
3.4.2 Some physical problems that arise at very high frequencies......Page 90
4.2 Avalanche injection in n + - n - n+ ( p + - p - p + ) structures......Page 96
4.3.1 Introduction......Page 106
4.3.2.1 Difference in breakdown voltages of a BJT between the common- base and common-emitter configurations......Page 107
4.3.2.2 Dependence of the bipolar transistor gain coefficient QO o n current density......Page 113
4.3.2.3 Main features of ABT operation in a conventional regime......Page 118
4.4.1 Introduction......Page 120
4.4.2 Steady-state collector field distribution. Residual collector voltage......Page 124
4.4.3 Transient properties of Si avalanche transistor at extreme current densities......Page 130
4.5.1 Experimental results......Page 137
4.5.2 Breakdown in moving Gunn domain in GaAs: qualitative analysis......Page 139
4.5.3 Computer simulations of superfast switching in GaAs avalanche transistor......Page 148
5.1 Introduction......Page 152
5.2 Impact ionization front (TRAPATT zone)......Page 155
5.3 Silicon Avalanche Sharpers (SAS)......Page 157
5.3.1 Computer simulations and comparison with experimental results......Page 159
5.3.2 Stability of the plane ionization front......Page 163
5.3.2.1 Short-wavelength instability of the plane ionization front......Page 165
5.3.2.2 Long-wave length instability of the plane ionization front......Page 167
5.3.3 The problem of the initial carriers......Page 169
5.4 GaAs diodes with delayed breakdown......Page 172
5.5 Superfast switching of GaAs thyristors......Page 177
5.6.1 Introduction......Page 183
5.6.2 Analytical theory of a streamer discharge......Page 184
5.6.3 Computer simulation......Page 191
Conclusion......Page 194
List of Symbols......Page 196
Bibliography......Page 200
Index......Page 210
AUTHOR INDEX......Page 214

✦ Subjects

Приборостроение;Полупроводниковые приборы;